#909 – When a finally Block Executes

The purpose of a finally block is to define some code that should always execute, whether or not an exception occurs while executing code in the corresponding try block.

Exactly when a finally block executes depends on several things:

• If the code in the try block executes without throwing an exception or transferring control elsewhere
  • The finally block executes after the code in the try block
• If an exception occurs while executing code in the try block ..
  • .. and the exception is caught in a catch block associated with the same try statement — the body of the catch block executes, followed by the body of the finally block
  • .. and the exception is not caught — the body of the finally block executes before the exception propagates back up the call stack
• If a goto or return statement is encountered in the try block
  • The finally block executes before control is transferred